Beauty Sales:

$7.9 billion

Key Personnel:

• Sarah Nash, executive chair and interim CEO
• Julie Rosen, president
• Wendy Arlin, chief financial officer
• Chris Cramer, chief operating officer

Major Products:

Bath & Body Works personal care fragrances, body lotions, body creams and shower gels; Bath & Body Works candles, liquid hand soaps, hand sanitizers and home fragrances diffusers.

New Products:

Fall in Bloom Fine Fragrance Mist, Sweet Whiskey Ultimate Hydration Body Cream, Cinnamon Sandalwood Body Wash and Foam Bath.

Year in Review:

The L Brands name is no more. In August 2021, Bath & Body Works Inc. completed its reinvention by formally separating from Victoria’s Secret to become an independent, public brand. All things Victoria’s Secret—including Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, PINK and Victoria’s Secret Beauty—are now part of a new company known as Victoria’s Secret & Co.

For Bath & Body Works, the move has turned out to be a savvy business decision. Last year, sales climbed to nearly $7.9 billion—a 22% increase. However, that initial momentum has fluctuated. The company acknowledged that achieving the full strategic and financial benefits after the company separation will take time. The impact of COVID certainly didn’t help. Most of BBW’s stores are located in malls and other types of retail centers that suffered from decreases in foot traffic. The pandemic-related global economy also was pointed to as a disruption in consumer spending.

On the bright side, BBW affirmed forward-looking investments in approximately 50 new North American BBW stores outside of malls, offset by 20-40 mall venue closures. It also announced increased enhancements to its digital platforms and the development of omni-channel and expanded buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) capabilities that better integrate its online presence with its stores to help engage customers.

2021-2022 Highlights:

On May 12, CEO Andrew Meslow left the company for health reasons. 

In November, Bath & Body Works Inc.’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to appoint Gina Boswell as chief executive officer and a member of the Board, effective December 1, 2022.

Looking Ahead:

The company’s 2022 first quarter was not without its growing pains. Q1 sales fell 1% to $1.4 billion. As it progressed through the second quarter, BBW experienced declines in traffic trends compared to the first quarter of 2022. “Our customer continues to respond to our merchandise and our shopping experience in stores and online. However, our data indicates that customers, particularly lower income customers, have become more cost conscious and are limiting purchases and/or seeking out lower-priced sale merchandise as they are being impacted by the overall inflationary environment,” the company said in a statement.

In a July Q2 2022 update, the company said it expected second quarter sales to be down 6-7% compared to last year versus its previous guidance for a low single digit percent increase compared to 2021.

“Our business continues to perform at levels significantly above pre-pandemic, although we are navigating a challenging operating and macroeconomic environment with inflationary pressure affecting our customers and our business,” commented interim CEO Sarah Nash. “Our team is executing well, and our agility and clean inventory position allow the company to effectively adapt to changing consumer demand and preferences. We will continue to leverage our vertically integrated supply chain to mitigate risk and chase winners. We are focused on driving improved merchandise margins and pursuing aggressive options to control costs and combat inflationary pressures.”

To that end, the company said it remains focused with a growth-oriented mindset and delivering products that help drive customer loyalty. The company’s product pipeline continues to be full and on-pace for launching new fragrances in products every four to six weeks. 

Read Next: Johnson & Johnson is #7